At Home With StoryWonk: The International Taste-Test

Look, we’ve known for a long time that our friends and listeners are the most generous, thoughtful, sweet and amazing people in the entire world. That’s no surprise to anyone. But when boxes of treats arrive from entirely different continents, we can’t help but be awed by the kindness and generosity.

Recently, we received packages from Allison in Australia, and from Pat in the UK. We opened them — eventually — on YouTube:

And once the packages were open, of course, we couldn’t resist any longer. Yesterday, Lani gave her last lecture of the semester at Syracuse University, and when she came home, we — including our daughters, Sarah and Cecilia, also known across the internet as Sweetness and Light — had a table full of delicious treats just waiting!

Lani’s home from work, the treats are ready, the kids — Cecilia on the left, Sarah in the middle — have never been more excited!

Some of the treats we’ll be enjoying this afternoon, courtesy of Allison and Pat!

I didn’t need to twist Lani’s arm too much to indulge in a whisky chocolate truffle. They are preposterously good.

Hermione doesn’t get treats, but she gets a new box, and that’s pretty much the best thing.

By the time I put the cat down, the kids had sampled everything from the UK box — the Hot Cross Bun Cookies were a big hit — and it was time for a lesson in fluid dynamics, Australia-style.

Let the nibbling commence!

Cecilia tries the slam with some Milo, which is their new favorite drink in the world.

And it’s a success! Sarah tried the Tim-Tam Slam too, but managed to cover her face with Milo and chocolate, so we’ll skip over that to…

Yes, I was there too, ready with a cup of coffee, wondering why I still haven’t tidied the shelves behind me after living in this house for a year.

Mission control, I need a go/no-go on putting this in my coffee.

Tim Tams are kind of like Penguins from the UK. Also, the are Good Things when saturated with hot black coffee, though I guess that’s true of most things…

The final verdict.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lani is handling dangerous materials…

The Vegemite Mandate, which sounds like the title of a 1970s spy thriller with Gene Hackman.

And here it is, ready for the test. We got these polka-dot plates as a wedding present from Jenny Crusie, proving one and for all that she’s the best.

Lani and Vegemite did not, in the end, get along. Luckily, the Milo took the taste away pretty quickly.

The pre-Vegemite side-eye…

The post-Vegemite reflection. “Huh. It’s better than Marmite.”

“If you guys don’t want to finish your Vegemite…”

In the end, the favorites were:

Cecilia loved the sherbet bomb candies from Australia most!

Sarah loved the Milo most!

Lani loved the whisky truffles most!

And I loved the hot-cross bun cookies and the Tim-Tams!

We were also split on the Vegemite: Sarah and I liked it, Cecilia and Lani did not. That’s a pretty common split in our household, now that I come to think of it…

Thank you so much to Allison and Pat — you guys are crazy generous, and we couldn’t be more touched by your kindness! You’re personally responsible for fueling the next week of podcasts, not to mention giving the kids something to look forward to when they get home from school — thank you so much!

Now, I’m going to go fix some coffee, and get the Tim-Tams out of the pantry…